


No One Gets Left Behind

by ZecoriTheWeirdOne



Series: NOGLB Series [1]
Category: Hermitcraft, Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft EVO
Genre: Gen, Hermitcraft - Freeform, How Do I Tag This, Kinda, Minecraft, NOGLB, all you need to know for now, evo - Freeform, hermitcraft au, is that this is a hermitcraft evo au, i’m not good at angst so you don’t have to worry about that a lot, multi chaptered, no one gets left behind, probobly, uhhh i’ll add more tags later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2020-08-12 01:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20163553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZecoriTheWeirdOne/pseuds/ZecoriTheWeirdOne
Summary: Hermitcraft Season 5 has ended, and the hermits head through the portal, ready to start a new world, as Hermitcraft Season 6!Except...Something doesn't seem right about this world they have entered..It almost seems... corrupted?What.. what happened to this place..?—————AU in which the Evolutionists escaped the prison that was their home, but in doing so, they left someone behind.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Eyo!  
Fair warning, I have no idea what I’m doing, so.. yea..  
I’ve only watched a couple episodes of Evo, and I’ve only ever watched Grian’s perspective of Hermitcraft, with only a sprinkle of other hermits in between, so I may get some personalities wrong.. 
> 
> This fic is inspired by CEPHALOTUS on wattpad, they came up with the idea, and allowed me to execute it, so, thank them!
> 
> Also, thanks to April on the hermits and evos discord for beta reading this!

He was scouting around the world, looking for materials. 

He found a tree. He grabbed his stone axe, and began chopping it down. 

He doesn’t think he’ll ever be used to trees defying gravity, like how he thinks he’ll never get used to this corrupt world he’s trapped in.

He finished cutting down the tree, leaving only floating leaves behind. 

It’s lonely here. 

He misses the lively feel this place had. 

He misses the things he used to do with his friends. 

He misses his friends. 

Why did they leave him behind?

What did he do to deserve this?

It’s not his fault they left him.

  
  
  


..Right?

He shook his head, clearing his mind of those thoughts. 

He should get back now, it was getting dark. 

Not that it mattered. 

Mobs didn’t seem to care whether it was day or night. 

He began to walk “home”. 

Home. 

This place wasn’t home. 

Not anymore. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Where once a tree stood proud, a portal now settled. 


	2. Chapter 1

_ Where once a tree stood proud, a portal now settled. _

———————————————

Out of the portal came a group of people, made of about twenty. 

Most of them were.. confused, to say the least, about the world they had arrived in. 

The world was tinted purple, and had an air of danger around it. Plant life seemed to be decaying, and from the few animals they could see, they didn’t seem to be doing good, either. 

They seemed.. corrupted is the best word to put it. Each looked mutated, be it extra limbs, a different color, or weird crystals on their backs.

If this is what the passive mobs look like, they didn’t want to know what the hostile ones were like..

One of them, Biffa, stated what they were all thinking.

“What happened here?”

They started muttering amongst themselves, uncertain about the situation they were in. 

That is, until one of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, climbed on top of the now inactive portal, and cleared his throat. 

Everybody quieted down, and looked at him. 

“Alright, so, it’s clear that this place isn’t safe, so we are all going to stick together, and find shelter.”

A couple of the newer hermits were confused.

“Why can’t we just leave, and find a new world?” One of them, Zedaph, asked. 

“It’s.. rather complicated, but the long and short of it is, we can’t use the portal until the void matter replenishes.” Xisuma explained. “I can explain it in further detail later, but right now, we need to focus on finding someplace safe. If there are no further questions, we should get going, before it gets too dark.”

There was a pause, as he waited for someone to speak up. When no one did, he nodded to himself, and climbed down the portal. 

He started walking in a random direction, motioning the group to come with him. 

There was a slight pause, before the rest of the hermits started to follow. 

———————————————

It was getting dark, and they still had no idea what happened to this world. 

This whole puzzle of a world was just.. _ confusing_. 

It seemed like everywhere they turned, this off-putting world threw something new at them. Worn down buildings, Glitched-up terrain, weird signs holding clues to _ something_. 

And that’s not even _ mentioning _ these weird symbols made of _ bedrock, of all things;_ they find seemingly everywhere. 

Whatever happened to this world, it seems to have something to do with whatever made those symbols. 

But now isn’t the time for theorizing, they need to find shelter, and fast. 

It was almost sunset, and they _ really _ didn’t want to see what happened to the hostile mobs. 

They were currently trying to find a shelter, since they all agreed that they shouldn’t waste time and resources on a place that they weren’t going to stay in, especially at this time. It was better to just find a pre-made shelter, since there seemed to be many. 

The hard part is currently _ finding _ the right shelter. Everytime they do find a seemingly “good” place, there was always _ something _ wrong with it; be it too weak, too exposed, too small, or corrupted. 

They were running out of time. It was almost dark, and they still haven’t found a shelter yet. 

They had been searching for hours now. They were getting tired. They were ready to take any shelter they could by now. 

They walked on an empty plain, having not seen any places for a while. 

They were losing hope, until one of them, Cleo, noticed something. 

A tower. 


	3. Chapter 2

_ They were losing hope, until one of them, Cleo, noticed something.  _

_ A tower. _

———————————————

The zombie hermit looked at it, trying to figure out if this was just an illusion, a figment of her imagination, but everytime she closed her eyes, it was still there. 

“I found shelter!” She said, pointing towards it, before running towards it in excitement.

A few of them were confused as to why she was running, while the rest just ran with her, excited to finally find shelter. 

When they got close, they noticed that the symbol that they found all over the place was placed on the door. 

Zedaph hid behind Tango, not sure what to think about this. The tower they found was really ominous looking, at least to him. He tried saying that maybe this wasn’t a good idea, along with a couple of the other hermits, but they were quickly shut up by the more excitable hermits. 

They almost got into an argument, when Xisuma interfered, saying that this opportunity is too good to pass up. He walked in, soon followed by the rest of hermits, some more reluctant than others. 

The interior was pretty bland, to say the least. Sure, there were some furniture and decorations, but it seemed this was more of a secondary home.

Either way, it seemed abandoned, so the group decided it was up for the taking. 

Scar started gathering up all the food they had gathered, placed down a furnace, and started cooking. 

Stress started making a place for the group to sleep in, placing down some beds they had gotten while searching for shelter. 

Tango and Zedaph gathered up the resources they had, and started crafting weapons and other tools for everyone to use. 

False had barricaded the entrance. She and the more combat-inclined hermits stood guard. 

Xisuma had gotten on top of a small pillar, and cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention. 

“Alright, so, we all agree that something is very wrong with this world?” 

A murmur of agreement rippled through the group, and Xisuma nodded before continuing. 

“As most of you know, we can’t leave for a while. The void matter that makes up the portal needs to replenish, so if we try to go now, it either won’t work, or implode, bringing us with it, which is a thing we  _ don’t _ want to happen. Joe or Biffa can explain further for those who are curious.” 

“So, what’s the plan for now?” Jevin asked. 

“Right now, it’s stick together and spend the night here. I don’t think we should make permanent bases here. Once the void matter replenishes, we’ll leave. Any questions?”

Silence. 

“Alright. Stress and Scar are making food, and Tango and Zed are crafting better tools. Go talk to them if you need anything. I’ll be leading a group up into the tower to make sure there are no possible threats.” 

With that, Xisuma hopped off the pillar, and the rest of the hermits wandered away, talking to each other, and crafting resources. 

———————————————

Mumbo was crafting some redstone tools, so he could build something that could help guard the entrance, when he felt someone tap his shoulder. 

He turned around, and saw Xisuma, with Iskall and Doc right behind him. 

“Think you could come with us?” Xisuma asked, gesturing towards the two with his head. 

Mumbo is confused. “Me?” He asks. “Why me?” 

“To help check for redstone traps, in case there are some.” 

“But, Iskall and Doc could do that?” He says, gesturing towards him. 

“We figured it would be best to have more than one person who can check for redstone, just in case one of you misses a trap.”

Mumbo thought for a bit, before nodding, and got up.

Xisuma nodded in response, and turned towards the stairs, heading up them. 

The small group followed. 

———————————————

There were no redstone traps, but there seemed to be a lot of personal items. 

There were tons of broken picture frames, featuring a few people they don’t know. 

There’s also a couple pieces of TNT, which do worry the small group as to who used to own these. 

They also found what seemed to be a broken pair of headphones. 

Wonder why’d they keep that?

———————————————

They finally reached the top of the tower. So far, it seems that this place is abandoned, which means that it would be okay for them to stay here. 

When they get up the final set of stairs, they find a bedroom. 

Well, it’s not your normal, run-in-the-mill bedroom, but it’s clear someone used to sleep here. 

It’s made up of blankets and a pillow on the floor, with a closet and various other items scattered around the room. 

A quick scan, and they deem this place abandoned. 

They look at each other, and nod, and start heading down to give the okay to the others. 

Xisuma barely reached the first step, when suddenly—

* _ thud* _


	4. Chapter 3

_ Xisuma barely reached the first step, when suddenly— _

_ *thud* _

———————————————

The small slowly turn towards the sound. 

The culprit?

The closet.

Xisuma looks at the three, before slowly walking towards the closet. 

The other three nodded, and held up stone weapons. Well, two out of three held up stone weapons. The third just had a wooden pickaxe. 

Wonder who that is.

Xisuma put a hand on the closet door. He heard whatever was inside stiffen. 

He paused. He held out a hand in view of the three, and counted down from five. 

Five.

Four. 

Three. 

Two. 

One.

_ Now. _

He slammed open the closet door, just as a figure burst through the now open door. 

The figure paused for a moment, before shaking its head, and running to the nearest target.

That target being Mumbo. 

He flinched, and held up his pickaxe in an effort to defend himself. 

The two dueled for a bit, wood banging against—What is that, _ obsidian_??—until Iskall charged into the figure, momentarily stunning the figure, the obsidian sword falling from its grasp. 

Iskall tries to attack, but the figure rolls out of the way, grabbing his sword, and tried to make a break for the stairs. 

Before it can get to it, however, Xisuma runs in front of it, brandishing his stone sword.

The figure recoils, before spreading its wings—wait, it has _wings??_ _why didn’t they notice this??_—and attempting to fly towards a small window. 

It almost makes it, when Doc throws his stone sword at one of its wings. 

It doesn’t impale it, but it does knock it off balance, sending it falling back down to the floor, it’s sword far from reach. 

Doc walks up to the figure, and they all can finally get a good look at it, now that it's not moving around everywhere. 

It’s a boy, probably no more than 18. He’s wearing a green hat and shirt, and, as they noticed before, large purple wings, that now have a small cut on them. 

They also notice he’s terrified, his unusual purple eyes widening in fear, as they all move closer to him. 

They all look at each other, unsure what to do. They weren’t sure what they were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t a _ kid_.

They huddle together, occasionally looking at the kid to make sure he doesn’t try to escape. 

“What do we do with him?” Iskall whispered. 

“I’m not sure, I wasn’t expecting a kid to be in there!” Xisuma whispered. The kid’s wings bristled a bit, but otherwise, it didn’t seem like he was listening. 

“Why—No, _ how _ does he have an _ obsidian _ sword, that should be _ impossible_..” Doc mutters. 

“Where are his parents? ..._ does _ he have parents..?” 

“Maybe he knows what the weird symbols mean..”

“Do you think he knows what happened to this place?”

“...why don’t we just ask him..?” Mumbo weakly suggests. 

The other three look at him dumbly, kinda forgetting he was there, before processing what he said, and turning towards the kid, who flinched at the four now staring at him, scooting back further. 

The four dispersed, with Xisuma clearing his throat, before addressing the young boy. 

“Hello! My name is Xisumavoid, but most people just call me Xisuma, or X, for short. What’s your name?” Xisuma said, extending his hand towards the kid. 

Said kid recoiled from the hand, his wings almost curled around his body. 

Xisuma took his hand back, a bit concerned for the boy. What happened to make him have a reaction like that?

Well, he _ kinda _ knows what happened, with the group.. attacking him, and all that.. but, something must have happened for him to have attacked in the first place, right?

He was taken out of his thoughts by Mumbo breaking the awkward silence that had followed. 

“uh—I’m Mumbo! Mumbo Jumbo!” He said, smiling awkwardly, his eyes flickering towards Iskall.

Iskall took the hint, and nodded, turning towards the kid. 

“My name’s Iskall.” 

“Doc.” Doc said gruffly. He was a little suspicious of the boy, and was too caught up in his thoughts to focus on his tone. 

The kid stayed silent, seemingly observing the small group. Mostly the creeper-man. 

An awkward silence followed. 

“..What’s your name, kid?” Xisuma repeated, hoping to get _ something _ out of the boy. 

“...Grian..” The kid said, staring in disbelief at the group. “..And I’m not a kid, I’m 25..” 

The group seemed to recoil at this. He looked so young! 

Iskall was the first one to recover. 

“Uh—Well,, do you know what happened to this place..?” He asked. 

He paused for a bit, before shaking his head. 

“Is there anyone else here?” Xisuma asked.

Another head shake, quicker this time. 

“My friends and I were the only people in this world but… they left a long time ago..” He said, his wings curling around his body. 

The group seemed to soften at that, but they were also confused. Why did they leave him behind? 

“Answer me this, if you can,” Doc said bluntly, his arms crossed, “Where’d you get that sword? It’s made of _ obsidian_, that should be _ impossible._.”

Grian seemed to stiffen ever so slightly, but quickly forced himself to relax. 

“I.. found it.. a bit after the world started glitching.. I’m not sure how it was made, or where it came from..” 

“How’d you get your wings?” Mumbo asked, but quickly backtracked. “Oh, uh—you probably—already had them..”

“Oh, uh, no, actually, they kinda just.. _ appeared _ on my back, one day..” Grian said, reassuring the mustached man. 

“What do the symbols we keep finding everywhere mean?” Xisuma asked.

Grian stiffened. It was noticeable to every person in the room. 

There was an awkward silence as Grian seemed to debate with himself on something. 

“...i.. _ really _ don’t want to talk about _ them_..” Grian all but whispered. 

The group looked at each other, before huddling up again. 

“I don’t trust him.” Doc stated. 

“Why?” Mumbo asked, a little confused. 

“It’s clear he knows _ something_, and isn’t telling us.” Doc said. 

“Well, it’s _ also _ clear that there is some trauma involved, so that’s probably why-“

“No, I mean the _ sword_, and what ever happened to this place,” Doc said, interrupting Iskall, “He _ knows _ how they happened, and he’s _ lying_.”

“Maybe it’s because he doesn’t trust us?” Xisuma offered, “I mean, yeah, he attacked us first, but we still attacked back, so _ obviously _ there’s gonna be some trust issues on _ both _ sides.”

An awkward silence followed. 

“So.. what now?” Mumbo asked. 

“Maybe we should invite him to join us?” Iskall shrugged. “I mean, we can’t just leave him here.”

“That’s.. not a bad idea…” Xisuma said, thinking, “It’s clear he knows this world works, maybe he could help us.. _ not die_?”

Doc looked like he wanted to rebut that, but seemingly thought about it, and nodded. 

“Alright, I’m okay with that.” He said, looking over to winged-man. 

They all turned back to Grian, with Xisuma stepping up, not too close, in case he was still scared of them. 

“How would you like to join us, Grian?” He asked. 

Grian looked at him, confused. 

“What do you mean?” He asked. 

“What I mean is, how would you feel joining our group, and leaving this place?” 

“..._ leave.._?” He asked, even more confused, albeit slightly intrigued.

“Yeah, our group go around, world to world, exploring,” Xisuma explained, “When we enter a world, we build our bases, and do our thing. And, when it’s time to move, we leave. Sometimes people in our group decide to stay, and we let them. So, if you want, once the void matter that makes up the portals we use replenish, you can leave with us.”

Grian seemed to process this. 

“..you’d just.. let me join you?” He asked. 

Xisuma nodded. 

“If you want to.” He said. 

Grian thought for a bit, before nodding. 

“Alright, I’ll join you..” He said. 

Xisuma grinned, though his helmet covered that; and stepped closer to him, holding his hand up to him. 

Grian started at the hand, before slowly grabbing at it. Xisuma pulled him up, before shaking his hand.

“Welcome to the Hermits, Grian.” He said. 

The other three walked up to him, and shook his hand. 

“Come on, let’s go tell the others!” Iskall said, grinning, which caused Grian to still a bit. 

“.._ others_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so far, this is the longest chapter, but it probably won’t stay that way for long..
> 
> ..take that as you will.


	5. Chapter 4

_ “Come on, let’s go tell the others!” Iskall said, grinning, which caused Grian to still a bit. _

_ “..others?” _

———————————————

It’s been about half an hour since Xisuma led the small group up the tower, and the hermits were getting a bit antsy. Surely it wouldn’t take this long to check if the tower was dangerous or not, right? 

False was getting ready to lead another small group up the tower to see if they were ok, when they all heard footsteps, and turned to see Xisuma coming down the stairs. 

A chorus of “_Xisuma!_” was heard from the group, before a couple people seemed to notice something. 

“Where are Doc, Mumbo, and Iskall?” Wels said, concerned. 

“So, you all know how we pretty much chalked this place up to be uninhabited?” Xisuma asked, avoiding the question. 

A few nods responded to this, everyone now concerned for what happened to the three. 

“Well.. we were wrong.. kinda..” Xisuma said, before looking up the stairs. “You guys can come down now!” 

They all turned towards the stairs, as they heard shuffling and muffled talk, before Mumbo and Iskall walked down the stairs, followed by Doc and.. wait who the heck that.

It seemed to be a.. winged kid? How does he have wings? Actually—scratch that. What is he even doing here? _ Alone? _ They’ve only been here for less than a day, and they know this place is practically inhospitable, how’d a _ kid, of all ages_, survive for _ who knows how long_?

Most of them were snapped out of their thoughts when someone spoke up. 

“Howdy there, kid!” Joe said to the boy, who seemed pretty nervous about all the attention on him. “I’m Joe Hills, what’s your name?” 

Iskall seems to chuckle at something, but tried to hide it in a cough, which left most of the hermits, including the boy, confused.

“..Grian..” The kid said after a moment of silence. 

“And, for the record, Grian is, in fact, _ not _ a kid, he’s actually 25.” Xisuma said, which shocked the hermits. For some reason. 

“_why does everyone think i’m so _ young_?? i’m not _ that _ small, am i?_” Grian mumbled, only caught by some ears. 

TFC cleared his throat, catching the attention of the hermits. 

“Xisuma, if I may ask, what is he doing here?” He asked. “Kid or no kid, this place is basically unlivable, how’d he even survive?” 

“You should ask him, not me.” He said, turning towards Grian, which made everyone else turn towards him. 

“Um.. There’s a farm, a while away… it hasn’t been infected by.. _ whatever _ happened to this place, but I'm not sure how long it would stay that way..” Grian said, nervously shuffling his wings. “And for when I’m not getting food, I stay here.. Not sure why, but it seems like the corruption can't infect obsidian, or bedrock..” 

Xisuma nodded at this information. 

“Alright, so we'll stay here until the void matter replenishes, and once it does, we’ll leave. Is there anything else we need to know about this world?” 

Grian thought for a bit.

“I’m sure you all know this already, but the mobs have all been.. corrupted.. The passive ones are.. _ okay-ish_.. but, _ no one _ should go out at night, at least, not without me. The hostile ones are… they’re _ bad_.. If you thought they were a pain before, then you haven’t seen _ anything_..” He explained. 

He went on to explain a lot of things, for example; if you find tnt, _ don’t _ touch it, unless you want it to explode.

He also said that if you see a purple winged figure, with purple eyes and hood, _ run_. 

He refused to elaborate more. 

———————————————

After a couple more explanations, everyone went off to do their own thing, after introducing themselves to the new hermit. 

Doc went off into his own little corner, going back to craft some stone tools and leather armor, when he noticed Ren walking up to him. 

“Hey man!” Ren said, waving his hand in a finger gun motion. 

Doc nodded his salutations, and continued working. 

“So, I noticed you scrutinizing the new guy, what gives?” Ren asked, curious. 

“I just.. I don’t trust him..” The creeper-cyborg explained. “Something about his story, it just.. it doesn’t _ make sense_…” 

“..I mean, yeah, some of it does seem kinda screwy, but, I mean, he did _ just _ meet us, so, there are gonna be some trust issues, right?” Ren shrugged, grinning. 

“..Well, yeah, but.. Look, he said not to trust people with purple wings, eyes, and robes, right? Well, take a look at him.” Doc said, gesturing towards Grian, who seemed to be having a conversation with Mumbo. About what, they had no clue. 

“That’s two out of three, wouldn’t you agree?” Doc said, turning back to his friend. 

“..Well, you may be on to something…” Ren said, frowning, before putting on a smile. “But, I still think we should get to know him first.”

“But—”

“Hey, if it does turn out that he’s evil and gonna try and kill us all, bragging rights are all yours, my dude!” Ren interrupted, walking backwards towards the Grian, holding up finger guns. “For now, though, I’m gonna get to know the new guy!” 

After he said that, he turned around, and began talking to the other two, one of which was a bit startled at the sudden interruption of their conversation. 

As they talked, Doc stared at the duo-turned-trio with a stoic look on his face. 

No one really seemed to pay his worries any mind. 

Fine then. 

He’ll just observe him from a distance, waiting for him to make a move. 

Once he does, he'll make sure he’ll never move again. 

Doc turned his attention back to the crafting table. 

He had some work to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, so, i have the next chapter written, and, once i have my beta reader read it, i’ll post it! but, after that, it might be awhile before any more updates, since school starts tomorrow for me..
> 
> well, anyway, i’m glad you are all enjoying this so far! i can’t wait for you all to see what’s coming next! ;3


	6. Chapter 5

_ Doc turned his attention back to the crafting table. _

_ He had some work to do. _

———————————————

It’s been about a week now, since they entered the corrupt world. 

They all noticed that Grian doesn’t really want to talk about whatever happened to this world, which is fine, they aren’t going to force him to. 

They do hope he opens up to them, though.

Xisuma was taken out of his thoughts when Scar spoke up. 

“Uh.. We’re kinda.. running out of food, you guys..” 

Xisuma got up, walking to the chests that held the food, and, sure enough, there wasn’t really a lot left. 

He thought for a bit, before scanning the room, his eyes landing on Grian, who was sitting next to Mumbo and Iskall, and began walking towards them. 

“Grian, do you think you could take us to the farm you mentioned before?” Xisuma asked him once he walked up to them. 

Grian looked at him, before processing the question. 

“Um, I could, but.. it would probably be best for me to go alone, so it would be faster..” Grian said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

“Well, I think it would be best for at least one of us to go with you, so you wouldn’t have to take two trips to fill the chest..” Xisuma urged, gesturing towards the large chest. 

“If you want, I can go with you?” Iskall proposed, joining the conversation. 

Grian looked between the two, seemingly thinking about it, before slowly nodding. 

“Alright, then..” He agreed, starting to get up. 

“Think I could come, too?” Doc spoke up, tone unreadable. 

Grian’s wings puffed up a bit. If anybody noticed, no one brought it up. 

“I think it’s best that only Iskall goes with Grian, so he doesn’t have to worry about keeping more than one person safe.” Xisuma countered. “Besides, we only have the one chest, I think it might burst if we added more than what we’re getting.” 

Doc looked like he wanted to rebut that, but after a moment of silence, he sighed, looking away. 

With that, Grian and Iskall headed out of the tower, towards the farm. 

———————————————

It took a lot longer than usual for Grian to get to the farm. Probably because he wasn’t flying like he usually was. 

When they finally got to the farm, he told Iskall to get an inventory half full of meat, and half full of anything else he could find. Grian didn’t know what the hermit’s food preferences were, so he just decided to get half of each. 

It took awhile, but eventually, they both had an inventory full of food, and were both tired. 

Grian sat down next to the sheep farm, Iskall following suit. 

They sat in silence, each resting their limbs, before Grian decided to speak. 

“..I don’t think Doc likes me..” He said, wings curled around him. 

Iskall looked at him, pleasantly surprised that Grian spoke up. 

“Eh, I wouldn’t mind him, he’s cold to a lot of people, I’m sure he’ll warm up to you soon enough.” Iskall reassured, shrugging, but Grian shook his head.

“No, I _ really _ think he hates me..” Grian protested. 

“..I mean, you _ did _ kinda attack us when we first met, so, of course he’ll be wary..” Iskall speculated. 

“Oh, right.. um.. sorry,, about that.. I-uh.. thought you were someone else…” Grian admitted, his wings wrapped even further around him. 

Iskall stayed quiet, processing this. Someone else? Didn’t he say there were no other people left in this world? 

..Maybe these people were why he didn’t want to talk about the symbols..? It was a long shot, but, admittedly, not that far.. 

..One way to find out..

“.._Who_..?” Iskall asked. 

Silence. 

Grian has a distant look in his eyes, but not in a good way. It’s as if he’s been reminded of something.. something he didn’t want to remember..

It’s a while before either of them say anything, with Iskall just watching Grian, hoping he’d say _ something_, so he could help him. 

“...we should get going…” Grian muttered, getting up, and starting the long walk back to the tower. 

Iskall stayed where he was for a moment, before starting after Grian. 

Okay, so it appears today _ isn’t _ the day that Grian opened up to them. 

That’s.. that’s fine. He can take his time. 

They’ll be waiting.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not updating this for awhile; school was being a butt, and this chapter gave me some issues.. However, I have finally powered through, and finished the chapter! While I admit it’s not my best, it’s all I could do for now.

_ That’s.. that’s fine. He can take his time. _

_ They’ll be waiting. _

———————————————

Time has passed since that small talk, and by now, all of the hermits has gotten to know him a bit more. 

Well, everyone except for Doc. He’s still pretty adamant about the fact that Grian should not be trusted. 

A couple of the hermits, mainly Ren, have tried to show him he doesn’t have to be this coarse to the new guy, but he just.. isn’t _ listening _ to them.. 

Maybe one day Doc will finally trust him.

..Hopefully it’s soon…

———————————————

Mumbo woke up with a shock. He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. 

He stayed like that for awhile, listening to nothing but the sound of his own breath. When he finally calmed down enough, he could only think of one thing...

..What _ was _ that..? 

Mumbo racked his brain for answers, but couldn’t remember anything about the nightmare. 

He sighed, disappointed. This had been happening for almost two years, now, nightmares happening every couple of days or so, with him waking up to remember nothing of it. He doesn’t even know why they’re happening, he doesn’t recall anything that would warrant them. 

He had told Iskall as much as he could about them, which, honestly wasn’t much. 

Some days, he could remember some bits, like red, and purple, but that’s about it.

Other days, like today—or, tonight, he guesses—he can’t recall anything about them. 

These days were more common than the former. 

Mumbo’s fully calm now, and he decides he should probably get some rest. It’s really late, and—wait..

..Where’s Grian..?

He looked around the room again, and, sure enough, the winged hermit is nowhere to be seen. 

He turned turned the stairs, and contemplated going up to see if he’s there. On the one hand, he probably just wants to be alone, and he could be intruding on that, but on the other, he could be injured, and by staying here, Mumbo was letting it get worse.

After a minute of thinking, he figured he probably should, just to make sure he’s okay. 

  


———————————————

Mumbo had checked every single room leading up to this point, and he still couldn’t find Grian. The last room he had yet to check was Grian’s “bedroom”—not that he really used it anymore, in these past two weeks they’d know him, he seemed to prefer staying downstairs with the hermits. 

He went up the final flight of stairs, and…

Nothing.. 

Grian was nowhere to be seen. 

He checked the closet, which was really the only place he could hide in this room, and found nothing but a couple clothes. 

Mumbo was getting more worried now. Where was he?

He was about to go downstairs to tell the other hermits, when he noticed a ladder leading up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. He was surprised he missed it, honestly. 

He walked up to the ladder, and started climbing. 

He slowly opened the trapdoor, unsure if he’d find Grian, or something else. 

There was a winged silhouette on a balcony, staring up at the starry night sky. 

He briefly debated going back down, and just leave him be, but he came up this farm he might as well get it over with.

“Grian..?” Mumbo asked, breaking the silence. 

Well, it was more like _ shattering _ the silence, at least, to Grian it was. He jumped, and turned around, fear in his eyes, and drew his obsidian sword towards Mumbo, which in turn caused him to shrink down a bit. 

The two stayed like that for a moment, before Grian realized who it was, and put his sword back in his inventory, before staring at Mumbo. 

Silence followed once more, before Mumbo broke it a second time. 

“What… What happened..?” He asked, wanting to know what possibly could have happened to him to make him have that sort of reaction, before realizing that saying it like that would probably confuse him. 

However, it seemed that Grian understood what he meant, as he flinched, and looked away. 

“..it’s nothing…” He mumbled after a short moment of silence, but it was clear he didn’t believe that, and neither did Mumbo. 

“It’s clearly _ not _ ‘nothing’, if it made you have a reaction like _ that_..” Mumbo rebutted, concerned. 

“..I just… I just don't want to talk about it…” Grian muttered, rubbing his arm, avoiding eye contact with the other. 

Mumbo stayed silent, before nodding. He’s sure that, in time, he’ll open up to them.. Hopefully..

There was a moment of silence, and Mumbo was going to go back down to the others, when Grian spoke up. 

“Do…. Do you want to look at the stars with me..? I, uh.. find them soothing, when I have.. bad dreams..” He said, his voice going quieter with each word. Mumbo looked at him for a moment, before nodding, and pulling himself up out of the trapdoor, and walking up to Grian. 

Mumbo looked up at the stars, and found himself speechless. The stars really were soothing, the lavender white of the stars complementing the indigo color of the night sky, with hints of blue and green in the mix.

He turned back to Grian, who was sheepishly watching him, awaiting his reaction. 

“It’s.. it’s marvelous…” Mumbo whispered, as if the very sound of his voice would shatter it’s elegance. 

Grian beamed, and looked back up at the sky. 

“It really is, isn’t it…” He whispered back. 

The two continued to just observe the sky, occasionally noting to each other all the beauties of it. 

They were too caught up in the night sky to notice the creaking of the trapdoor, to notice a green and grey head slowly pop up. 

They didn’t notice how the figure observed them for a while, didn’t notice how his gaze suspiciously lingered on the winged boy, how his eyes wrinkled in distaste. 

They didn’t hear him slowly climbing back down the ladder, shutting the trapdoor once more. 

———————————————

Grian was playing a _ dangerous _ game, here. Had Mumbo not had been there… _ Well_..

_ He wouldn’t have been playing anything, then.. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now, with this chapter out of the way, time to get started on the chapter i’ve been waiting for..... tomorrow...


	8. Not a Chapter, will delete later..

_hey guys... it’s.. been awhile..._

_i know i implied that last time would be the last time you had to wait that long, but... i just can’t seem to get this next chapter to flow right.. i can’t even get past the beginning.. _

_I want you guys to see this chapter, really, i do, but.. i just can’t get it to work.._

_i’m not giving up on this... at least, not yet.. _

_but.. it may be awhile before this updates again.._

_..feel free to follow me on my tumblr for more frequent updates(or, just a bunch of reblogs, honestly), i‘ll be more active there.._

_..i apologize for the long wait..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...sorry....


	9. not a chapter: announcement

_hey guys.. long time no see..._

_this.. this announcement is long overdue.._

_i have found that i have lost the passion that came with writing noglb, and.. decided to put this on a hiatus. for a long time._

_maybe i’ll continue this later along the line, maybe i’ll rewrite the whole fic, or.. maybe i’ll just leave this fic to rest. _

_i’d love to continue this, really, i do.. but... i just can’t._

_’m sorry, for those who have been with this near the beginning, and those who have just found and enjoyed this fic.. thank you all for coming with me, and inspiring me to try this. sorry i couldn’t finish this.. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s a tiny bit more info about this on my tumblr, zecoritheweirdone. not much, but still.

**Author's Note:**

> hey, if you want, scream at me at my tumblr, @zecoritheweirdone


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